DxO PureRAW 2 Released
DxO released PureRAW 2 – the new version allows users to pre-process images without leaving Lightroom, offers significant speed improvements, added Fujifilm X-Trans/40 new cameras support, 5800 new modules, improved OS integration, and more.
At the heart of DxO PureRAW 2 is DeepPRIME. The technology relies upon artificial intelligence trained using billions of input and output samples. DxO writes, ‘Thanks to billions of carefully selected input and output samples, the artificial intelligence ‘learned’ the two fundamental operations of any RAW photo editing process: demosaicing and denoising.’ Traditionally, RAW editors perform demosaicing and denoising across separate steps, resulting in softer images with more noise. ‘By contrast, DxO DeepPRIME adopts a holistic approach and combines the two steps into one, giving exceptional performance. The results are spectacular: DxO DeepPRIME removes noise and recovers information without losing detail in the image’s colors, creating more even and natural transitions. Compared to DxO PRIME, the DxO algorithm which previously set the standard for denoising in the photo industry, DxO DeepPRIME delivers an improvement of around two ISO stops.’
DxO PureRAW 2 features massive speed improvements with DeepPRIME. On Apple Silicon, results are about 4x faster. On Windows machines, you can expect gains up to 1.5x.
The other major update for PureRAW is the support for Fujifilm X-Trans files. The company says the support for these files brings “significant benefits of DeepPRIME to Fujifilm XT photographers where they can expect clean images, free of noise and artifacts, with deep, vibrant colors even at high ISO levels.”
PureRAW 2.0 also includes improved support for HiDPI Displays giving photographers more control on Windows machines and has updated support for its camera and lens combinations, increasing the number of supported combinations to over 70,000 combinations. This includes more than 28 Fujifilm camera and lens combinations (including the Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji X-M1, Fuji X-E1, Fuji X30, and Fuji X20) as well as several new Leica, Nikon, Canon, Sony, and Ricoh additions.
Where DxO PureRAW 2 offers perhaps its biggest improvements is how the software fits into existing, highly varied workflows. PureRAW 2 can be used as a plugin or as a standalone app. PureRAW 2 incorporates two new integrations to smooth out existing workflows. In Lightroom Classic, users can right-click on a selection of RAW files and have PureRAW 2 process them as enhanced linear DNG files before putting them back into the existing root folder.
DxO PureRAW 2 is available for $129 for new users and as a $79 upgrade for existing DxO PureRAW users from the company’s website.
More info on DxO’s website.
